Football Notes: FC Barcelona Academy To Train Footballers In India

FC Barcelona's football academy, FCBescola, will travel to India and train young football players, "so that they can tap precocious talent at a young age and place them under the same model" that players like Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez followed. After conducting clinics all over India, including in the capital of Delhi, the FCBescola "has decided to initiate a football camp in Chandigarh (TIMES OF INDIA, 12/6).

OUT OF AFRICA: Rwanda's Ministry of Sports and Culture Permanent Secretary Edward Kalisa said that the country "is committed" in its bid to host the 2013 CECAFA Challenge Cup. Rwanda FA Chair Celestin Ntagungira said that Rwanda "would be able to announce the name of a Challenge Cup sponsor within two weeks of being chosen as hosts" (NEW TIMES, 12/6). ... Ghana joins the few African countries devoted to women's football with the launch of its first National Women's League. The 12-club league, organized by the Women's League Board of the Ghana FA, will kick off on Dec. 16. The clubs have been divided into a Southern and Northern zone, with six teams each (Confederation of African Football).